News
KYOTO NIPPON FESTIVAL 2026
-Beyond time, the garden blooms-
Kitano Tenmangu Shrine
February 1, 2026 to May 24, 2026
The KYOTO NIPPON FESTIVAL, born in 2016, celebrates its milestone 10th anniversary.
Set against the historic backdrop of Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, it has shared Japan's “beauty” and “culture” with the world.
For its anniversary year in 2026, the festival welcomes EiM, a creative team uniting specialists across various fields, including artists Mika Ninagawa and Hiroaki Miyata.
Furthermore, partnering with dance company DAZZLE, EiM will take on the challenge of creating an immersive theater experience at Kitano Tenmangū for the first time.
The fusion of Mika Ninagawa's vibrantly colorful world and DAZZLE's physical expression will create a unique experience where history, tradition, and art intersect, set against the backdrop of Kitano Tenmangu in spring. We will deliver an unforgettable experience, one that can only be savored here, to all our guests.
Set against the historic backdrop of Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, it has shared Japan's “beauty” and “culture” with the world.
For its anniversary year in 2026, the festival welcomes EiM, a creative team uniting specialists across various fields, including artists Mika Ninagawa and Hiroaki Miyata.
Furthermore, partnering with dance company DAZZLE, EiM will take on the challenge of creating an immersive theater experience at Kitano Tenmangū for the first time.
The fusion of Mika Ninagawa's vibrantly colorful world and DAZZLE's physical expression will create a unique experience where history, tradition, and art intersect, set against the backdrop of Kitano Tenmangu in spring. We will deliver an unforgettable experience, one that can only be savored here, to all our guests.
About the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine
Kitano Tenmangu Shrine is the head shrine of approximately 12,000 Tenmangu and Tenjin
shrines nationwide that enshrine Sugawara no Michizane (Sugawara no Michizane) as their
principal deity.
Since ancient times, it has been affectionately known as “Kitano Tenjin-sama” and is widely revered as a shrine for prayers for success in entrance examinations, academic achievement, cultural and artistic pursuits, and protection from disasters and misfortune.
Since ancient times, it has been affectionately known as “Kitano Tenjin-sama” and is widely revered as a shrine for prayers for success in entrance examinations, academic achievement, cultural and artistic pursuits, and protection from disasters and misfortune.
Artists
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Photographer, film director, contemporary artistMika NINAGAWA works predominantly in photography, but is also involved in movies, videos and spatial installations. She is also a part of the creative team “EiM”.
Winner of numerous awards including the Kimura Ihei Photography Award, she published a book of her photographs with Rizzoli N.Y. in 2010. She has directed five feature films, including Helter Skelter (2012) and Diner (2019), and the Netflix original drama FOLLOWERS (2020).
She has published more than 120 books of photographs, held more than 150 solo exhibitions, and participated in more than 130 group exhibitions. She continuously presents her work in Japan and abroad.
Her solo exhibition Mika Ninagawa: Eternity in a Moment (TOKYO NODE, December 2023-February 2024) attracted 250,000 visitors.
Her latest book of photographs is titled “Eternity in a Moment vol.1‒3” (Akio Nagasawa Publishing & Case Publishing, 2024).
https://mikaninagawa.comNotable exhibitions-
2024Group Exhibition I'M SO HAPPY YOU ARE HERE, Palais de l'Archevêché
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2021-2022Group Exhibition Tokyo: Art & Photography, Musée d'Ashemolean
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2022MIKA NINAGAWA INTO FICTION / REALITY, Beijing Museum of Contemporary Art
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2016Mika NINAGAWA Exhibition, MOCA Taipei
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Scientist and Executive DirectorProfessor at Keio University School of Medicine. As a scientist envisioning the future of humanity and society, he works across diverse fields including healthcare, policy, and social design, grounded in data science. Through practices that bridge the expression of scientific intellect and sensibility, he collaborates with diverse domains.
He serves as Executive Director of the creative team Eternity in a Moment (EiM).
He served as Theme Project Producer at Expo 2025, constructing the better co-being Pavilion. As an artist, he exhibited the work “Sky of Resonance” and, as Hiroaki Miyata with EiM, the work “Maximum Happiness for Maximum Diversity.”
As president of the planned Co-innovation University (tentative name), opening in 2026, he oversees the overall concept and supervises campus design alongside architect Sou Fujimoto. Underpinning all these activities is the consistent vision of Better Co-being—the philosophy that “diverse beings resonate together to co-create the future.” -
EiM: Eternity in a MomentCreative teamPhotographer, film director, and contemporary artist Mika NINAGAWA, and scientist and executive director Hiroaki MIYATA, production designer ENZO, creative director Isao KUWANA, lighting director Koshiro UENO, Director Masayuki SAWADA, Technical Art Director Shinya UEDA, Video Director Hiro NAGOYA, Music Producer Manato KEMMOCHI, and Communication Designer Saori KIRYU.They work by forming diverse teams for each project.Notable exhibitions-
2022"The Butterfly Journey Embracing Lights" Appi Art Project
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2023Mika NINAGAWA "After glow / Eternity in a Moment" Tomio Koyama Gallery Maebashi
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2023‒2024“Mika NINAGAWA Exhibition: Eternity in a Moment” TOKYO NODE
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2024“Mika NINAGAWA Exhibition with EiM: Where Humanity Meets Nature” Hirosaki Museum of Contemporary Art
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2024“Dreams of the Beyond in the Abyss” Forest Art Festival Sunny Country Okayama, Manki Cave
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2024“Mika NINAGAWA Exhibition with EiM: Dancing with Shadows in the Light” Nanjo Art Museum
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2025“Mika NINAGAWA Exhibition with EiM:Lights of the beyond, Shadows of this world” Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art
Production Designer ENZO,Creative Director Isao KUWANA,Director Masayuki SAWADA,Lighting Director Koshiro UENO
Technical Art Director Shinya UEDA,Video Director Hiro NAGOYA,Music Producer Manato KEMMOCHI,Communication Designer Saori KIRYU -
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dance companyFormed in 1996.
A dance company that has established its own unique dance style under
the banner of “a dazzling brilliance that belongs to all categories and
yet belongs to none.”
Known for its story-driven works that fuse street and contemporary dance
with Japanese culture.
Since 2017, the company has been a pioneer in Japan in the
production of immersive theater.
It continues to challenge itself with new forms of expression.
Contents
Installation
Three Gardens of Snow, Moon, and Flowers Plum blossom garden “Flower Garden” 《The Garden of Blossoming Light》
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Mika NINAGAWA with EiM
An outdoor art installation featuring over 1,000 crystals suspended from the trees of the plum garden, revealing different expressions with the changing seasons and light.
At the tea shop within the plum garden, you can enjoy traditional sweets and leisurely savor the beauty of Japan's changing seasons. The experience varies with each visit, shaped by the grand timeline of the plum tree's journey from bare branches to full bloom and fresh green leaves, and the smaller timeline of the light's shifting quality each day and moment.
As nature, people, and the artwork resonate together, visitors sense the very essence of life within the plum garden itself.
Discovering quiet brilliance within fleeting moments opens the mind to the profound history of Kitano Tenmangū Shrine.
As nature, people, and the artwork resonate together, visitors sense the very essence of life within the plum garden itself.
Discovering quiet brilliance within fleeting moments opens the mind to the profound history of Kitano Tenmangū Shrine.
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VenueKitano Tenmangu Shrine, Three Gardens of Snow, Moon, and Flowers Plum blossom garden “Flower Garden”
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Exhibition PeriodFebruary 1, 2026 - May 24, 2026 ※Closed on certain days
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Hours9:00 AM to 8:30 PM (Last admission at 8:00 PM)
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Advance Ticket PriceAdults: ¥3,500 Children: ¥2,000 ※Admission to the Setsugekka Three Gardens and Umen Garden “Garden of Flowers” as well as the Odoi Baikōken is included with the same ticket. ※Re-entry permitted on the same day
Odoi Baikōken《 Afterglow of Lives 》
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Mika NINAGAWA with EiM
A spatial art installation that coexists within the tea room two contrasting expressions: blooming flowers and those that fall, wither, and transform into seeds. It seeks to reveal the quiet brilliance inherent in the cycle of life.
Rather than competing, the vibrant colors and the stillness of decay are arranged to deepen each other's presence. Depending on the angle of light, the viewer's length of stay, and shifts in perspective, the flowers reveal different expressions, allowing one to sense the passage of time.
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VenueKitano Tenmangu Shrine, Odoi Baikōken
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Exhibition PeriodFebruary 1, 2026 - May 24, 2026 ※Closed on certain days
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Hours9:00 AM to 8:30 PM (Last admission at 8:00 PM)
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Advance Ticket PriceAdults: ¥3,500 Children: ¥2,000 ※Admission to the Setsugekka Three Gardens and Umen Garden “Garden of Flowers” as well as the Odoi Baikōken is included with the same ticket. ※Re-entry permitted on the same day
Immersive Theater
Fugetsuden Hall《 The Six Shadows 》
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Concept, Direction, ScriptDAZZLE × Mika NINAGAWA with EiM
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Planning, PerformanceDAZZLE
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Art ProductionMika NINAGAWA with EiM
Immersive theater that creates “art experiences where you step into stories within historical spaces,” inviting you beyond mere immersion.
Set in the Fugetsuden Hall of Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, this marks the first collaboration between the globally active dance company DAZZLE and Mika Ninagawa with EiM.
Creative team EiM not only handles the stage design, but Hiroaki Miyata also contributes to concept development, collaborating with Mika Ninagawa on script development alongside DAZZLE. Furthermore, by performing not on a stage built for theater, but within the unique space of Kitano Tenmangu Shrine—a place where history itself breathes—it guides audiences toward a new experience unlike conventional theater or exhibitions, one that can only be encountered here.
Creative team EiM not only handles the stage design, but Hiroaki Miyata also contributes to concept development, collaborating with Mika Ninagawa on script development alongside DAZZLE. Furthermore, by performing not on a stage built for theater, but within the unique space of Kitano Tenmangu Shrine—a place where history itself breathes—it guides audiences toward a new experience unlike conventional theater or exhibitions, one that can only be encountered here.
What is Immersive Theater?
This work unfolds as the captivating cast, led by DAZZLE,
performs freely throughout various rooms symbolizing the characters, designed by Mika Ninagawa with EiM.
performs freely throughout various rooms symbolizing the characters, designed by Mika Ninagawa with EiM.
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VenueKitano Tenmangu Shrine, Fugetsuden Hall
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Exhibition DatesMarch 20 - May 24, 2026※Closed on certain days
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Performance durationApproximately 60 minutes
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Advance Ticket PricePremium: ¥22,500 General: ¥15,000
Map
Ticket
KYOTO NIPPON FESTIVAL
Installation Ticket
Installation Ticket
Adults
¥3,500
Children
¥2,000
Ticket sales begin November 15, 2025, 10:00 AM
※ This will take you to the 「e+」 details page.
※ This will take you to the 「e+」 details page.
Important information about tickets
- Admission is available to the Plum blossom garden “Flower Garden” (February 1 - May 24) and the Historic Site Odoi Maple Garden “Green Maple” (April 1 - May 24).
- ※Re-entry permitted on the same day
- Admission to the Fugetsuden “Immersive Theater” (March 20 - May 24) is not included.
- A separate “Immersive Theater Admission Ticket” is required.
- ※Admission tickets include tea and sweets. Please collect them at the tea shop within the plum garden on the day of your visit.
- *Tickets are non-transferable and cannot be resold.
- *Tickets are non-refundable for any reason after purchase.
- *Please arrive during operating hours (until last admission).
- *Child rates apply to ages 6–12. Entrance for children under 6 years old (pre-school age) is free. Those aged 13 and older are charged the adult rate.
- *Same-day tickets are available for purchase at the venue (Kitano Tenmangu Shrine).
- ※If the plum garden is crowded, entry may be restricted. In such cases, you may be asked to wait at the entrance.
- ※The park remains open even in rainy weather. However, it will close if the organizers deem conditions dangerous due to snowfall or other reasons. Additionally, the park may close irregularly for maintenance. Closure dates will be announced on the official website, so please check there.
KYOTO NIPPON FESTIVAL
Installation Ticket +
Immersive Theater Experience Ticket
Installation Ticket +
Immersive Theater Experience Ticket
Premium
¥22,500
General
¥15,000
Ticket sales begin November 15, 2025, 10:00 AM
※ This will take you to the 「e+」 details page.
※ This will take you to the 「e+」 details page.
Important information about tickets
- ※For details regarding the Immersive Theater Experience Ticket, please refer to the official website for “Grand Tea Gathering of the Flowered Night”.
Outline
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Event nameKYOTO NIPPON FESTIVAL 2026 -Beyond time, the garden blooms-
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Date and timeFebruary 1, 2026 to May 24, 2026
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Venue
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